The sides agreed to promote common initiative based on the Russian phased plan for Korean settlement and Chinese ideas of parallel freezing of North Korea’s nuclear activities

MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Russia and China will jointly promote their initiative on the resolution to the Korean Peninsula’s problems and the freezing of North Korea’s nuclear program, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after talks with his visiting Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

"Among joint foreign policy priorities is a comprehensive resolution of the Korean Peninsula problems within the interests of ensuring lasting peace and stability in Northeastern Asia," he said. "We have agreed to promote our common initiative based on the Russian phased plan for the Korean settlement and Chinese ideas to simultaneously freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities and the US’ and South Korea’s large-scale military drills."

According to Putin, during the talks, he exchanged views with the Chinese leader on the Syrian crisis and on other problems. "We spoke about the prospect for implementing the agreements on the Iranian nuclear program," he noted, adding that Russia and China have very close, nearly identical positions on all major international issues.

"We will continue to expand our foreign policy coordination," Putin pledged. The talks with the Chinese leader will give an impetus to the development of the entire spectrum of friendly relations between the two countries, he added.